BIA Ch. 119

Kestrel paused, his hand hovering over the beer can on the table. He blinked, staring at Isaiah for a moment before speaking.

“This is too sudden.”

“Getting fired two days before D-day was plenty sudden too.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Kestrel nodded. As if finally able to move again, he took a sip of beer and put the can back down.

“You worked well together for months, so I wondered why they would suddenly request a replacement right before the biggest job, just two days prior.”

“Believe it or not, that’s up to you. I’m telling you because I don’t want you getting arrested red-handed in my place.”

“Hmm.”

Kestrel picked up the can again. Though he didn’t say anything, his eyes showed clear confusion. The thought ‘Should I believe this?’ was written all over his face. Of course, Isaiah understood. He would have felt the same way.

“So.”

Kestrel, having slowly finished the rest of his beer, finally crushed the can and spoke.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Do nothing.”

“Oh?”

Kestrel raised an eyebrow and tossed the can. The crushed can flew in a high arc, landing neatly inside the trash bin in the corner of the room.

“Just set up the gun and wait. Pretend to follow Chester or Manny’s orders, but on the day, don’t shoot. Just wait.”

“Getting paid for doing nothing. Nice.”

Having already picked up a new can, Kestrel nodded with a satisfied look. He popped the tab and immediately downed about half of it. He drank quite fast this time. The sound of beer gulping down his throat echoed cheerfully in the small room. Mickey watched with envious eyes.

“Hey, be honest.”

Kestrel said, placing the considerably lighter can back on the table.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I told you. I’d feel bad if you got arrested instead of me.”

“No, the you I know wouldn’t give a damn either way. You’re the type to say ‘It’s not my problem anyway, what does it matter?’ and just sleep at home.”

Kestrel stated flatly. Isaiah didn’t deny it. He felt Mickey’s gaze beside him, thinking, ‘You inhuman bastard,’ but ignored it.

“You don’t know the meaning of camaraderie. Same goes for brotherly love.”

“I know the words.”

“Surely it can’t be because of the sex.”

Mickey’s expression shifted from ‘You inhuman bastard’ to ‘You promiscuous homo.’

“It’s not like we slept together that much. Three times at most? Four? That’s nothing compared to the guys you rolled with back in Kabul. Eating and screwing was practically all you did with them.”

Eventually, Mickey squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away. It seemed he couldn’t even bear to look anymore.

“So why come all the way to my place just to kindly tell me this? Huh?”

Isaiah stood up. He placed the feature phone from his jacket pocket onto the table and said.

“Because I want to screw Chester over.”

It was past eleven, nearly midnight, when they arrived at the Williams Hotel. When Isaiah gave Mickey’s name, the front desk kindly provided the reservation details.

“Maximilian Apelt? You’re booked in a Family Suite. It was reserved for three guests.”

Not just a deluxe room with an extra bed, but a Family Suite. It was certainly a luxury beyond the FBI’s budget.

In any case, with one person gone, there was no reason to use the Family Suite. Besides, it was better to share a room to keep an eye on Mickey. Isaiah requested a change to a smoking room. Since none of the suites allowed smoking, they had to move to a Deluxe Twin Bed room.

“The briefing said you only smoke very occasionally…”

Mickey muttered loud enough for Isaiah to hear, pretending it was to himself as they got into the elevator.

“I told you not to trust the briefing. Who the hell provided that bogus information anyway?”

“It was Bran.”

“..…”

Isaiah silently looked up at the elevator display.

Truthfully, he didn’t smoke that often. Maybe one or two cigarettes a week at most. But strangely, he kept thinking about cigarettes since earlier. To be precise, it started when he heard about Bran’s plan from Mickey. His mind felt cluttered, and his chest felt tight, making it unbearable.

If he knew how to drink, he would have drunk alcohol. If he did drugs, it would have been easier. A single shot could solve everything cleanly.

But unfortunately, he did neither. The closest thing was cigarettes. Of course, cigarettes weren’t as helpful as alcohol or drugs. Still, inhaling and exhaling, repeating that simple action, felt like it cleared his head a bit, which was good. It felt like creating a tiny gap, perhaps.

Not long after arriving in the room, a vibration sounded. There was no need to figure out which pants pocket it was in anymore. There was only one phone left.

“What brings a busy person like you to call?”

Isaiah answered curtly, skipping any greeting as soon as he pressed the call button.

「How are the room conditions?」

Bran also skipped the pleasantries and asked directly.

“Not bad. But your lackey is here.”

At Isaiah’s words, Mickey, who was sitting on the adjacent bed, widened his eyes. He seemed to have realized it was Bran.

「My lackey? Since when did the FBI become my lackeys?」

Bran feigned ignorance. Normally, Isaiah might have played along, but he wasn’t in the mood right now. He flopped onto the bed and said.

“Just so you know.”

「But why are you together? Wasn’t the Family Suite supposed to have two bedrooms?」

“Changed it to a deluxe room. I sent one away. He stated his rank and name too late.”

「Who did you send away? Billy? Maximilian?」

“Billy.”

「I should send flowers.」

“Do whatever.”

Isaiah replied indifferently. Even as he said it, he thought, ‘Ah, was that too blunt?’ and sure enough, a smiling voice came through the receiver.

「But why are you so angry?」

Hearing that nonchalant tone, any feeling of apology he might have had vanished. Simultaneously, anger flared up.

“So you thought I wouldn’t be angry?”

Isaiah raised his voice without realizing it. He felt Mickey beside him, holding his breath and watching. He instantly snapped back to his senses. Bran was, after all, Mickey’s superior. He didn’t want to undermine Bran’s authority in front of his subordinate.

“I made it clear. I wanted to be helpful to you.”

Isaiah gathered all his patience and spoke as calmly as possible.

「Right. You being safe is helping me.」

“Bran.”

Isaiah eventually sat up. Wiping a hand over his face, he spoke in an exhausted voice.

“If you understood how I feel, you shouldn’t have acted this way.”

「Yes, I feel sorry about that.」

Bran apologized readily for once. Did he perhaps understand just how outrageous his actions were?

「But you should know how I feel too. Then you should understand me. Shouldn’t you?」

No, absolutely not.

“Don’t twist my words like this. It’s childish.”

「Love quarrels are always childish.」

“What quar—!”

Startled, Isaiah shouted, then quickly caught himself and mumbled in a small voice.

“…Your lackey is right here.”

「So what? It’s not like he can hear my voice.」

“He might.”

Feeling preemptively guilty, Isaiah lowered the call volume. Unaware of Isaiah’s feelings, Bran spoke nonchalantly through the receiver.

「Doesn’t matter. Why don’t you just switch to speaker mode?」

“What nonsense are you talking about.”

「Quickly. Switch it.」

It felt like he had pushed the wrong button somewhere. Sensing the conversation wouldn’t go anywhere productive, Isaiah quietly ended the call. Immediately, the phone rang again. This time, it was a video call request from the start.

“Ha…”

Isaiah sighed, holding the wildly vibrating phone. It seemed Bran would keep calling until he answered. He could feel Mickey constantly glancing over from the side. Isaiah considered going to the bathroom but thought it might make Mickey more suspicious, so he just sat on the bed and answered the call.

「Why did you hang up?」

Bran said as soon as the call connected.

“It got disconnected.”

「You really are a terrible liar.」

Making excuses in this situation would only make him look pathetic. Isaiah gave up cleanly and instead brought the smartphone screen closer to his face. His insides had been boiling just moments ago, but seeing Bran’s face calmed his anger somewhat.

Whether he had some business this late at night, Bran was dressed in an immaculate suit. And the familiar background behind him was…

“Is that Grace’s greenhouse?”

「Correct.」

Even though the lights weren’t on, the surroundings were reasonably bright. Perhaps because of the full moon.

「Is Max on the bed next to you now?」

“Yeah.”

「Show me.」